Rough in the Saddle

by Jenika Snow

  Travis stepped away from Pearl, adjusted his dick so it wasn’t that obvious he was sporting a hard-on, and went over to the table to sit down. He was hungry, but not for sandwiches. He ate, but his focus was on Pearl. He loved the way she worried her bottom lip, tugged at the flesh until it was slightly swollen and glossy. Travis wanted to suck that lip into his mouth, lick at it, nibble it, and make it sore and abused, but have her begging for more.

  “I better go to the store and get more cleaning and cooking supplies.” And then she was hauling ass out of the kitchen and was in her car minutes later. He smiled, sensing her unease, but not because she was uncomfortable with him, but because she was hot for him.

  “Damn, Pearl can sure cook,” Jace said as he went for another helping of macaroni salad.

  “The house looks livable,” Colton said and started chuckling when Travis flipped him off.

  He thought back to Pearl again when his brothers started talking about heading up to the mountains for the weekend for some fishing and hunting. They’d stock up the smoker and cure and dry the meat, having a nice supply for the rest of the year.

  All he could focus on was Pearl though, what she did to him and how she made him feel. Yeah, she wanted him, maybe for more than just some dick, and he’d be more than happy to show her that if she gave him a shot he’d treat her like his Queen.

  ****

  A week had passed since the incident with Travis in the kitchen. The truth was Pearl had been trying to get her head wrapped around everything. She stayed busy, had the main house cleaned and it was staying that way, and the other two houses were also on their way to being cleaned. Jace’s was done, but Colton’s was going a bit slower since it seemed Colton had never heard of a mop. The dirt was so thick it was a wonder there weren’t potatoes growing in every corner.

  She left the house, cleaning supplies and bucket in hand, and headed toward the main house once more. She was about to leave for the evening, had the weekend off, and knew the guys would be gone as well. She’d heard that they’d be heading out tomorrow morning to go into the mountains for fishing and hunting. She’d never been one that enjoyed the hunting aspect of living in the country, but she also knew that the guys hunted for food, not for trophies.

  She’d heard their stories over the last week about the various trips they’d taken deep into the forest, their gear, horses, and mule in tow. They spent several days in the wild, and she didn’t think she’d ever be able to just go off into the nothingness like that. Maybe one day, but right now she was content being around people all the time, even if those people were three very rough and tough cowboy brothers.

  She stored her things in the cooler that was attached to the back of the four-wheeler and climbed on. It was important for her to use the ATV they provided, especially if she didn’t want to make the mile or so trek between each house. Besides, it was fun riding around on this thing. She’d never been able to be on anything aside from a bike or in a car, and riding the four-wheeler, going over the bumps and dips of the ground, had her feeling like she was a kid again.

  Once she was back toward the main property she saw the guys loading up their gear and checking on the horses they’d be using for the trip. Jace and Colton were running brushes over the two mares, Lucky and France, and the stallion that Travis was using, Rocco, was busy eating from a bale of hay. She brought the four-wheeler to a stop before them, and sat there for a moment, just watching them work. They didn’t have shirts on, and the sun was especially hot that day, beating down on them and having sweat glisten from their toned, golden skin.

  She looked at Travis, saw he was watching her, and her whole body became hot. She shifted on the seat, which was already warmed from sitting out in the sun, but hell, she felt like the damn thing would catch on fire from how overheated she suddenly was.

  “You all set for your trip?” she asked, looking at Travis, but addressing them all.

  He stood to his full height of well over six feet tall, and moved toward her. He’d been working on checking his guns, packing up his bullets, and the thought of his big hands smoothing over the rifles, of the skill it took to shoot them, aim them so the kill was clean and painless, made her feel very feminine against his masculinity. He placed his hands on the handlebars of the ATV, and grinned down at her.

  “I think I’d much rather be staying here for the weekend,” he leaned in an inch, “you wrapped around me, and our bodies exhausted because we fucked hard.”

  She felt her mouth drop open, snapped her eyes over to where Jace and Colton watched them, and knew they’d heard what Travis had said. Before she embarrassed herself and said something that would either encourage him to continue or offend him because he was technically her employer and shouldn’t be saying those things, she started the four-wheeler and headed back to the main house.

  Once inside she went over to the sink and ran the tap, splashing water on her face and trying to breathe. She didn’t know how long she stood there, but long enough that when she finally opened her eyes it was to see the sun had set, the guys were heading to their houses, and she was still at Travis’s place. She should have been long gone by now.

  Pearl told herself she could work through this job, push her desires aside, or maybe block them out enough that they wouldn’t affect her, but the truth was she’d done a lousy job of that. She couldn’t distance herself from Travis, from her feelings, but she didn’t want to, and that was her biggest issue.

  “I thought you’d be gone by now, especially after what I said and you acted all pissed.”

  She turned around and faced Travis, felt the water drip from her face, and grabbed a paper towel to dry her skin off. “I should have been gone, should have slapped you for saying that in front of your brothers and embarrassing me.”

  He didn’t grin, like she thought he might have, but instead leaned on the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked filthy from working outside all day, but it was the good kind of filth. “I’d like to talk to you, Pearl. Will you let me shower real quick and then we can have a conversation without sexual innuendos from me?” He did grin then, a teasing note in his voice.

  She should have said no, but instead she found herself nodding. He pushed away from the doorway and left her alone in the kitchen. For the next twenty minutes she busied herself with cleaning the same counter space over and over again. She kept thinking about what Travis could possibly say, if he was going to proposition her for some kind of fuck buddy status, or maybe tell her that working here was just too hard for him and it wasn’t going to work out.

  God, maybe she should just leave before that conversation started, because even if he was a man with desires, needs that were pretty potent before she even came along, she wasn’t a woman that would just sleep with him to pass the time.

  Then what is it that you want from him? You want him to tell you he cares for you, too, that he wants more than just the incredible sex you guys obviously have together?

  She grabbed her purse and was about to take the weak way out and just leave, but before she made it out of the kitchen Travis was stepping out of the bedroom in only a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. His dark hair was wet, the short strands slightly sticking to his forehead. He dried the rest of his hair with a towel, tossed it back in the room, and looked at her.

  “You were running off?” he asked and lifted a brow in question. She looked down at her bag. She knew leaving was the childish, weak thing to do, but she was afraid about how she’d react with him, about what he’d say. Could she even handle if he asked her to be his fuck friend? She wasn’t a slut, but she liked having sex with him, liked the way he made her feel.

  “Yeah, pretty bad, huh?” she said and set her bag back on the table. She took a seat, watched him walk in the kitchen and sit across from her at the table, and rest his big forearm on the scarred wood. He was so big, so imposing and muscular that she felt small compared to him, feminine.

  “Why were you going to just leave?”
he asked, his tone neutral, void of emotion.

  She shifted in her seat, looked at the clock on the wall above his head, and tried to think of a good, not immature response.

  Just tell him the truth, tell him what you want.

  She opened her mouth, maybe to tell him the honest truth, that she wanted more from him even if it sounded crazy, but the words stalled in her throat. He leaned forward, clasped his hands together in front of him, and she looked down at the veins that moved over the back of his hands and ran up his thickly corded forearms.

  “I want you,” he said flatly, hard, dominating. “I want you as mine, to do with as I see fit, but also because you want that, too.”

  Her heart beat so loud that she heard it in her ears, felt it in her throat, and became lightheaded because of it. “I’m not a woman that just puts out easily.” God she sounded ridiculous saying that seeing as she’d brought him home on the first night of meeting him. “What I meant was that I’m not going to make this an easy access fuckfest for you because I’m here and we both want each other.”

  “Fuckfest?” he said with an amused smile on his face. He stood, slowly made his way toward her, and when they were only inches apart he stopped. “And we both want each other?” He lifted an eyebrow again, a trademarked move she was coming to be familiar with.

  Travis had her out of the chair and pressed to his chest moments later. He kissed her senseless, grabbed a chunk of her hair behind her head, and fucked her mouth. God, was he fucking her mouth. She pushed away from him, not able to think clearly, let alone process what was happening.

  “I can’t,” she said, not sure why she was saying it or what she was saying she couldn’t do. Feeling foolish now, her lips tingling from the kiss, her body filled with adrenaline, she took off, left out the front door, and moved over to the side of the house. Her car was just right there, escape so close she could taste it, yet she stood there.

  What in the hell was she going to do?

  Chapter Twelve

  Wrapping her arms around her waist she stared up at the sky. The moon was full and seemed so bright and large above her, making her feel almost minute compared to everything else. She touched her lips, felt them tingle from Travis’s kiss, and her entire body lit up. She wanted him desperately, and although she’d been barely working for him, trying to push her desires away, it was damn hard.

  She’d always been in control of her life, in her job, and with everything she’d done. But with Travis she wasn’t in control. He was. It felt good, but it was also frightening. She closed one eye and lifted her hand, placing her thumb and forefinger at the top and bottom of the moon. She pinched it between her fingers, causing it to disappear for a moment, like she’d done when she was a young girl in the city, well, when she could even find the moon through all the lights that surrounded her.

  “Why’d you run from me, Pearl?”

  She dropped her hand as surprise filled her even though she knew he’d come for her. Pushing away from the side of the house, she turned and looked at Travis. His hands were in his jeans pockets, and the light from the house illuminated his silhouette.

  What was she supposed to say? Should she admit that she was afraid of her feelings for him, that he made her feel alive and she barely knew him? She had been a one-night stand to him, and now was his housekeeper. Was she here to be his little pussy on demand? She was nothing to him, so the fact that he actually came after her made that tightness in her chest ease, but only marginally.

  She wrung her hands together and looked down, not knowing how to respond. She certainly couldn’t tell him that she wanted him more than just sex, that she’d been spending time with him, well, in his home, learning little things about him, seeing the pictures of his life, and she felt like she knew him intimately. Or could she? She just didn’t want to be made a fool. He stepped forward until there was only a foot between them. His body heat seeped into her, and she felt the chill start to leave her.

  “Pearl, answer me.”

  What had he asked? She licked her suddenly dry lips and noticed he watched the act.

  “Why did you run, sugar?” His voice had dropped an octave, and the normally rough timbre now seemed like a low growl, but held a touch of softness as he used that endearment.

  Her heart was beating so fast. Can he hear it? Does he know the effect he causes in me, the feelings I have for him that seem so wild and reckless?

  “I—” She looked down at her hands again. His finger on her chin brought her head up and she was looking into his eyes. “I think about you … a lot, Travis.”He searched her face with his gaze, and she felt herself feeling stupid over the whole situation. No doubt at any moment he would laugh her off, tell her that whatever delusional feelings she had were just that … delusions. That, of course, was not what happened. A gasp left her when his mouth latched onto hers.

  His kiss was hard, demanding, and when his hands landed on each side of her face, tilting her head to the side, controlling her so that she was helpless against him, she felt herself melt even further. Was it even possible to fall in love with someone in only a short time? Although she didn’t think she was in love with him, her emotions were strong, too strong for her to feel comfortable about so soon like this. Travis Sterling was every kind of bad for her, every kind of good. At this moment, at this exact time, all she could think about was how his mouth on hers was doing wicked things to her body.

  He walked them backward, turned her around so the cold, hard surface of the side of the house met her back. Travis pressed his chest against hers, sandwiching her between him and the house. His hands slid down her hips and around so he was cupping her ass. God, it felt so good to have him touch her, hold her, and consume every part of her. He gripped the edge of her shirt and slowly dragged it up until it was bunched under her breasts. Then he pushed her pants and panties down her thighs before she could object.

  Hell, who was she kidding? She had no intention of objecting to this. He dropped down to his haunches so that his warm breath blew across her now bare folds, and she stared down at him, her heart in her throat and her desire making her feel drunk. His swallow was audible, and the groan that followed was deep and filled with an arousal that matched her own frantic one.

  “Spread your legs, sugar, let me see that pretty pussy of yours, the one I’ve been thinking about, and jerking off to images of.”

  She sucked in a lungful of air, tried to stem off the dizziness in her body, and finally did as he asked, no, ordered. He gripped the back of her knee and brought it over his shoulder. His mouth was suddenly on her cleft, his tongue parting her folds as he ate her out. Pearl let her head fall back on the house, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the feeling of him devouring her. His hand on her ass started to squeeze the flesh at the same time his tongue dipped into her opening.

  Travis fucked her with his tongue, and it took everything inside of her to hold herself up. The hand that had been gripping the back of her knee snaked between her thighs and as soon as his thumb touched her clit she came. A low, mewling cry left her, and she speared her hands in his hair and shamelessly ground her pussy into his face, loving that he made this low, animalistic sound against her.

  The grip she had on his hair was hard and she knew it had to hurt him, but his groans spoke differently, spoke of him enjoying the pain as much as he gave her pleasure. He gave her pussy one last long lick and stood. He kept his hands on her ass and pulled her forward, letting her feel the hard length of his erection press into her belly. He pressed his lips against hers, ran his tongue along the seam before plunging into her mouth. She tasted herself on his tongue, and it was a potent mixture that had her moaning in his mouth and wrapping her arms around his neck. But before her hands could connect he was taking a step back.

  “Baby,” he whispered, and she closed her eyes, loving and hating what his voice did to her body. “I could devour every part of you, make it so there wasn’t anything left, and it still wouldn’t be enough.”

 
; “God, Travis.” Her response was breathy, and even she could hear the need in it. Damn, she really was pathetic. Her eyes were still closed, but at the sound of his zipper going down she snapped them open. There was deep need reflected on his face.

  “I want you on your knees, hands behind your back.” His command was rough and held no room for argument.

  Pearl swallowed, feeling her pulse increase and her pussy become wetter. Her pussy clenched for something substantial, for something that only Travis could give her.

  “Don’t think, just do as I say.”

  The way he was exerting his dominance, like he just expected her to submit, was offending, but also so damn arousing. She dropped to her knees and felt the soft grass buffer her from the hard ground. The thick jut of his cock was right in her face, and she looked up at him.

  “Hands, sugar.”

  She brought her hands behind her back and clasped her fingers together, feeling adrenaline pump through her veins. Her whole body started to shake, but it had nothing to do with the wind blowing around them, or the chill in the air. The way he looked down at her, how he ran his fingers along the edge of her face, tracing her cheekbones, her chin … it was like he could see right through her. Hell, they had been around each other for such a short time.

  It wasn’t just about needing this man because he turned her on like no other, or because she couldn’t stop thinking about him. It was about Travis, the man that brought out these emotions she’d never felt before. Pearl saw herself falling harder and deeper for Travis, and she knew if she didn’t stop herself she would fall hopelessly for him. That scared her, and she didn’t like feeling as though she had no control over where her emotions or life were going.

  He took himself in hand and brought the head of his cock to her mouth. The tip brushed against her lips, and he commanded her to open with just a look. She immediately complied, feeling the need to submit to him like no other.